The New Orleans metropolitan area, designated the New Orleans–Metairie metropolitan statistical area by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, or simply Greater New Orleans, is a metropolitan statistical area designated by the United States Census Bureau encompassing seven Louisiana parishes—the equivalent of counties in other U.S. states—centered on the city of New Orleans. The population of Greater New Orleans was 1,271,845 in 2020, up from 1,189,166 at the 2010 United States census. Greater New Orleans is the most populous metropolitan area in Louisiana, and the 45th most populous in the United States. According to 2017 census estimates, the broader New Orleans–Metairie–Slidell combined statistical area (CSA) had a population of 1,510,562.

New Orleans is a consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 according to the 2020 U.S. census, it is the most populous city in Louisiana and the French Louisiana region; third most populous city in the Deep South; and the twelfth-most populous city in the southeastern United States. Serving as a major port, New Orleans is considered an economic and commercial hub for the broader Gulf Coast region of the United States.